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Detroit jumped out to a quick lead over the Yankees in the rubber game of their series.

The Journal provides minute-by-minute analysis of this decisive American League Division Series Game 5 in Yankee Stadium. Jared Diamond offers commentary on the game and TBS telecast, and Daniel Barbarisi, Brian Costa, Steve Eder and Gregory Zuckerman contribute from the Bronx. The Tigers won, 3-2.

We began this series on a soggy Friday night by discussing how the playoffs had a lot to live up to match the excitement of the regular season’s final day. As we sit here less than a week later, we can officially say that the action thus far has exceeded expectations. It’s every baseball fan’s greatest dream: three decisive Game 5s in the span of about 24 hours, starting with tonight’s contest between the Tigers and Yankees in the Bronx.

Tonight’s game comes with plenty of intrigue. The Yankees return home riding the momentum of an emphatic 10-1 victory in Tuesday’s Game 4 and send rookie Ivan Nova to the mound for the biggest start of his young life. Detroit counters with Doug Fister, who, like Nova, will be making his first career postseason start. Remember, because of the kooky weather that forced the suspension of Game 1, Nova’s and Fister’s outings Saturday technically counted as a relief appearances, making them just the seventh and eight pitchers in baseball history to make their first start of a postseason series in a decisive game. It hasn’t happened since 1980, when Philadelphia’s Marty Bystrom started Game 5 of the NLCS against Houston. Also, at 24 years, 8 months and 24 days, Nova will become the youngest man to start a decisive game in a playoff series since the Angels’ Ervin Santana beat the Yankees in the 2005 ALDS.

A half-hour till the first pitch, and a mini-riot almost breaks out in the bleachers when some of the natives see not only Eder, but one guy behind us, in Tiger caps. Will see how long they keep ‘em on.

On TBS, the three analysts just made their predictions, and it was about as predictable as it gets: Dennis Eckersely took Detroit. David Wells went with New York. Cal Ripken stared wistfully into space and muttered something about Earl Weaver.

I say right now we start a count of how many times TBS plays that ridiculous postseason theme song. I’m setting the over-under at 50. Seriously, it was a cool tune the first 18 times I heard it. But rendition No. 1,800 started to get tedious.

It’s amazing what one great start can do. The camera just focused on A.J. Burnett hanging out on the edge of the dugout, and the crowd applauded at the sight of him. Needless to say, that wouldn’t have happened at any other point this season. With this, on top of his great 2009 World Series start, I wonder if A.J. can just make one awesome start every postseason, and then get away with horrible regular seasons for the rest of his contract? Oh, and Joe Girardi confirmed before the game that if there is an ALCS, Burnett will get a start.

It’s hard to get a feel for the mood of a team before a playoff game because, unlike during the regular season, clubhouses aren’t open to reporters. But if a manager is any indication whatsoever, the Tigers are a pretty loose bunch. Jim Leyland put on a pretty good stand-up act during his pre-game press conference, which he began with this: “I have an announcement to make. This will explain why you think I’m so old and grumpy and messed up. I got a telegram today from a professor from a prominent university. These are my instructions for tonight. I won’t tell you the university, because I don’t want the place to empty out tomorrow, but I will tell you I am supposed to pitch Valverde the first five innings tonight, then I’m supposed to pitch Verlander the last three, quote, the seventh and eighth. So that’s where we’re at. Are there any questions?”

Don Kelly and Delmon Young just stunned the Yankee Stadium crowd by hitting back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches. It’s 2-0 Tigers already. Now seems like an appropriate time to ask: Is A.J. Burnett available to pitch tonight?

I thought Detroit might take a few more pitches early, given how they seemed overly aggressive against Nova on Saturday. But credit Kelly and Young for not hesitating to crush pitches left over the plate. Kelly homered on the second pitch, Young on the first.

Steve, I fully expect you to do your reportorial duty and get his opinion on being the other Tiger fan in the bullpen. Jeez, the Lions are undefeated and the Tigers are 24 outs from going to the ALCS. This must be one of the best moments in Detroit sports in a very long time. Cherish this moment, all of you out there in Detroit.

With all the discussion about whether Justin Verlander will pitch in relief tonight (he won’t, unless Jim Leyland decides he really, really needs him), it’s worth mentioning that Doug Fister has pretty much been as good as Verlander since he came to Detroit from Seattle.Â Since Aug. 3:

It would be pretty interesting if Hughes had to come in to save Nova, since Nova has pretty much taken over Hughes’ spot as the Important Young Yankee Pitcher. Nova is the flavor of the month now, and Hughes the afterthought. Of course, there’s a reason Hughes is not starting anymore, so no guarantee he “saves” anything if he comes in.

Now that we have a count of how often TBS plays the postseason theme song, we should also start a count on how many times TBS plays the exact same commercials:Â Avocados from Mexico, Phil Jackson in the restaurant, the poor sad-sack husband and his wife in the greenhouse.Â Oh, the theme song just came on again.

Feels like many more Tiger fans than one would think. Largely because the one behind me is really loud, really obnoxious and thinks he’s the second coming of Ernie Harwell and has to do play-by-play. In the old Stadium, he would have been punched in the mouth by now.

Really surprised by the quick hook here for Nova. This is the kind of decision that could come back to bite Joe Girardi by the time this night is over. Nova has been the Yankees’ best pitcher for about two months, and that includes CC Sabathia, who has struggled mightily since early August. Phil Hughes was bounced from the Yankees’ rotation for a reason. Girardi, who is loyal to a fault to his veteran players, is showing very little confidence here in the horse that brought him to the race.

TBS just had a priceless shot of Miguel Cabrera in the dugout. He looked out to the mound, saw Hughes instead of Nova and looked genuinely shocked. He started waving his hands and shrugging his shoulders as if to say, “What’s going on here?” Maybe he just wanted to face Nova one more time.

I think it was too quick of a move, but Hughes’ stuff looks electric, that double notwithstanding. His stuff really plays up in the short term, though I’m not sure if they can get three of those kinds of innings out of him if he’s going max-effort. Still, what choice do they have now? Girardi’s really put them in a bind here. Say you get three out of Hughes, then you still need to trust in Garcia, or maybe Wade or the heavily used and shaky Soriano, to pitch the sixth, before you get into Robertson/Rivera territory. If Nova struggled through the third? OK, pull him. But it just seems early.

You think Delmon Young is glad to have gotten out of Minnesota when he did? The Twins finished the season 63-99. Young is 6-for-17 in this series with three home runs. Nonetheless, Hughes induces Cabrera to ground out weakly, and the Yankees will come to bat in the third trailing 2-0.

Not a peep by any of the TBS announcers beyond a little confusion. (How is it that Ron Darling is so engaging with the Mets on SNY but so dang boring when he does national games? I will never understand that.) I agree with the masses here: definitely seems like a big-time panic move by Girardi and one that seems to put the Yankees in a huge bind. Nova seemed to be settling down, and he has been nothing but effective for months. Granted, Hughes looked great in that last inning, but he isn’t the type that can be counted on for length. He’s had trouble with that all season long.

One thing that makes Fister tough for a hitter: Heâ€™s 6-foot-8. His wingspan gives him an advantage in that his release point is both closer to home plate and higher than the average pitcher, which throws off a hitterâ€™s timing. The downward action on his pitches helps him make up for a high-80s fastball. I wrote about this in April with the Mets and Chris Young, who is 6-10. Fister isnâ€™t quite that big, but when I asked him about this last week, he said his wingspan does help him quite a bit. â€œI think thatâ€™s a big part of my game, some leverage and some deception,â€

Fister has incredible movement on his cutting, sinking fastball so far tonight. Right-handed hitters have been giving up on inside pitches, only to see it dart back out over the inner half of the plate for a strike.

If Hughes can get the Yankees into the 5th, they’ll be fine. Mariano can go two tonight, since he’s barely pitched this postseason. Question is if the Yankees can scratch out enough runs. Fister still has a low pitch count.

Another little Doug Fister nugget I wrote about in July: Halfway through this season, Fister was on pace to lose 18 games for the Mariners despite an ERA under 3. He went to the Tigers, and now he’s pitching in Game 5 of the ALDS.

How deflating for these Yankee fans! The Yankees announcers, who can be heard in various places around the stadium, were saying that Robinson Cano is the best hitter in baseball. They must not have heard of Miguel Cabrera.

Seriously, this “I should have married John Clark” AT&T commercial is painful to watch. I feel so bad for the poor guy. Seriously, could anyone blame John Clark for not wanting to marry that little shrew?

A positive Yankees note: This is what happened with Fister the last time, too. The Yankees were blown away by him in the first two innings, then their lefties started making contact and getting on base. They hit three balls really hard in the fifth, but didn’t get much for it. And then in the sixth, they broke through. In that third inning, lefties Gardner and Cano hit balls very well, and Granderson drew that walk. Interesting to see what the Yankee lefties can do in the next two innings.

Let it be known that I just received a series of text messages and instant messages and any other kind of message you can imagine all with pretty much the same sentiment: What is Joe Girardi doing? After Phil Hughes looked sharp through 1 1/3 innings, Girardi just pulled him for lefty Boone Logan. His bullpen maneuvering right now is reeking with panic, and it’s hard to fathom how he plans to get through nine innings tonight. Does he expect CC Sabathia to go more than one or two innings? Is he going to somehow put Bartolo Colon on the roster?

Logan gets out of the fourth, but I still don’t agree with the move by Girardi. Hughes could have easily gone another inning or two. This may have helped the Yankees at the moment — may have — but it could come back to bite them later.

I must say, this is the fastest carousel I’ve ever seen in my life. Even faster than this. The Derby Racer at Rye Playland — the only carousel in the world where you pray before you ride and feel fortunate when it’s over that you survived.

Detroit has a nice lineup, but it does not have much of a left-handed presence. Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young hit right-handed, and Victor Martinez is a switch. Seems like the way Girardi sees it, there isn’t really need for a lefty specialist tonight.

Doug Fister escapes a bases loaded, one-out jam by getting Brett Gardner to pop out in the infield. The Yankees have struggled mightily with runners in scoring position during this series, but nothing to this point was bigger than that inning. That must be a deflating blow for the Yankees, and a big momentum boost for the Tigers.

Joe Girardi just spoke to TBS for his in-game interview: “Nova tightened up a little bit, and that’s why we had to take him out,” he said. Girardi did not elaborate beyond that, but it seems like his decision to remove Nova was based on Nova’s health.

That said, Girardi was extremely guarded in his comments and did not specify what he meant by Nova “tightened up.” He had retired three straight batters in the second inning and appeared to be settling down before coming out of the game. He showed no sign of injury. Could Girardi have meant Nova tightened up mentally? I’m sure this is the last we’ll ever hear of this story.

You really have to wonder about just how “tight” Nova’s forearm really got. Based on what we know of him, he is not the type of guy to ask out of a game, especially one of this magnitude. I am very curious about what Nova will say about this injury after the game.

Yankee fans are now ready to yank away the (imaginary) MVP award for Curtis Granderson, who fumbles a single to center Tigers 3, Yankees 0. You have to wonder why CC intentionally walked Cabrera with Martinez on deck.

CC Sabathia escapes the jam, but not before damage was done. The pesky Don Kelly (there’s that name again) picks up a huge RBI single to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. It’s getting late early for the Yankees.

A sign of life for the Yankees: Robinson Cano drills an inside fastball deep into the second deck to cut the deficit to 3-1. That ball was absolutely smoked. Now let’s see if that sparks New York’s dormant offense and how Fister bounces back.

Great job by Fister bouncing back from the home run quickly and getting Alex Rodriguez to ground out. Jim Leyland is showing a lot of confidence in Fister, and, to this point, it is very much justified.

The carousel continues to spin. Girardi is going to Rafael Soriano with a runner on first and one out. Soriano has not been particularly reliable in this series, and the Yankees cannot afford to give up another run.

Soriano becomes the fifth Yankees pitcher to appear in this game. Two more and they will tie the all-time record for pitchers used in a winner-take-all game. According to our friends at Stats LLC, three teams have previously used seven pitchers in a winner-take-all game: the Giants in Game 7 of the 1987 NLCS, the Cardinals in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series and the Brewers in Game 5 of the 1981 ALDS. All three teams lost.

If the Yankees lose this series, CC Sabathia’s poor performance will be a huge reason why. He allowed six earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. Remember, he was supposed to anchor a pitching staff that does not have a second reliable starter. Unfortunately for New York, Sabathia has been incredibly unreliable himself for the past two-plus months. His contract situation is not the discussion for right now, but it will make for a fascinating story whenever the offseason comes.

You have to imagine that in some way, the Rangers are sitting at home rooting for Scherzer and the Tigers to close the door here. If Detroit wins, Texas has home-field advantage in the ALCS. Otherwise, they’re packing their bags tonight and heading to New York for Saturday’s Game 1.

It is hard to believe now that there was some speculation in the media that Posada would not make the Yankees’ playoff roster. That said, I doubt Girardi ever really considered not carrying him into October. Posada’s now 6-for-13 in the series. And the Tigers are nine outs away from heading to Texas.

For all the discussion about how Girardi has handled the bullpen, he may end up being right. So far, the back-to-back home runs Nova allowed in the first inning has held up, and with Robertson and Rivera still available, Girardi has pretty much gotten through the dangerous innings. It’s up to the bats now.

I totally understand why the Yankees bounced him from the role, but who doesn’t miss Ronan Tynan doing “God Bless America.” This guy, whoever he is, just doesn’t live up. What happened to that random other verse that Tynan invented? No one else ever sings that. Such a shame. Also, we’re in the middle of the 7th now.

Delmon Young just left the game holding his left side and has been replaced in left field by Ryan Raburn. Not sure what happened to him, but if it’s a substantial injury, that’s a huge loss for Detroit moving forward. Anyone in the press box have any idea what happened?

This is the money moment for the Yankees. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, New York’s two best hitters, are coming up with a chance to tie the game after Jeter beat out an infield single. No matter what happens now, the Yankees cannot say they didn’t have opportunities. Earlier in the game, they stranded the bases loaded with one out. A couple big hits here would definitely atone for that.

The fact that Detroit is going to Joaquin Benoit instead of Phil Coke in this situation is a testament to how much Curtis Granderson has improved against left-handed pitching this season. Jim Leyland had Granderson in Detroit at a point in his career when he was literally a guaranteed out against lefties. Now, with a tough lefty in the bullpen, Leyland is choosing to go with a righty. In many ways, that’s high praise.

Huge hit by Granderson will bring Robinson Cano to the plate with first and second, one out. Cano, suddenly, is up as the go-ahead run. This is the moment the Yankees have been waiting for all game. Here we go…

Cano hits a strange squibber off the end of the bat that fooled Benoit and scooted past him for a bizarre infield hit. That ball was hit like a cue shot with a ton of English. And now here comes Alex Rodriguez, with the ultimate chance at redemption. Bases loaded, one out. A single should tie the game. Here we go again…

Benoit walks Teixeira to force in a run, cutting the deficit to 3-2. That run CC Sabathia allowed a few innings ago looms much, much larger now. Nick Swisher is up with a chance to tie the score or give New York quite the lead.

That’s veteran catching by Russell Martin right there. Before that last pitch, he banged his glove on the ground as if to inspire Robertson to throw that low curveball in the dirt. He then climbed the ladder with a high fastball, and Cabrera was very late. Those are the little head games that cause us media types to call certain players “gamers” or “heady.”

Did Leyland remove Scherzer too soon? Closer Jose Valverde is already throwing, and it looks like the Tigers are going to count on him for more than three outs tonight. Joaquin Benoit had an intense inning in the seventh. It will be interesting to see how Leyland and his bullpen try to piece together these final six outs.

TBS playing Monday-morning quarterback by showing Alex Rodriguez not scoring from second on that single earlier in the game. Maybe he would have scored, maybe he wouldn’t, but I don’t blame the third-base coach. You have to trust your team to get a run with the bases loaded and one out.

With two outs and nobody on, I’m wondering if Girardi considered bringing up a hitter with a little more pop than Gardner. He’s been very, very reluctant to turn to rookie slugger Jesus Montero in this series. This seems like an opportunity for him to try to run into one and tie the game.

Nice shot by TBS of Andruw Jones with a bat in his hands. He probably thought he’d have an opportunity to hit for Gardner there. But Girardi’s trust in his speedy left fielder paid off, as Gardner just singled through the left side. Now, will Leyland go to Valverde? Will Gardner run? Lots of questions here…

Derek Jeter flies out to the right-field wall, ending the inning. Maybe in the old days, with the younger Jeter, that ball would have soared over the fence. Or a fan would somehow have pulled into the stands and fooled all the umpires. But in this game, it’s just a loud fly-out, and Detroit is officially three outs away from going to the ALCS. Jose Valverde will come into the game to face Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez. At the very least, Valverde will have to earn it.

Jose Valverde picks up a huge first out by getting Curtis Granderson to pop out to shallow left field. Two outs to go. Personally, I am really looking forward to Valverde’s wild dance on the mound if he picks up this save. Considering how he reacts to routine saves against the Royals in May, this should be interesting.

Well, it wasn’t a season-ending double play, but Alex Rodriguez strikes out to end the game — and the Yankees’ season. A fantastic performance by Jose Valverde, who mowed straight through Granderson, Cano and Rodriguez. The Tigers have won the series and will advance to what should be an absolutely fantastic ALCS against the Rangers. Justin Verlander should be able to pitch at least two, if not three, times in the next series against perhaps the best lineup in all of baseball.

You have to give a lot of credit to Detroit’s bullpen. They validated their manager’s decision not to use Justin Verlander tonight. That was a gutsy, gritty performance by a very talented team, and there’s no denying that the better team won this series. The question now, of course, is if the Tigers are a better team than the mighty Texas Rangers. In the next few days, we will find out.

Comments (5 of 14)

I have been a tiger fan since 1978 when I turned 7 years old and understood the game, and what a game I just seen...it was all you could ask for in a game 5 winner takes all...first congrats to Leyland who I meet this summer at the tiger gala in Lakeland a true pro, he put a team out there that he knew in his heart could win without the need of Verlander...Fister 8-1 with 1.79 since joining the team, and Max ready to light it up at 98mph like he did...he knew he didn’t need his stud because they won 95 games and Justin won 24 so he trusted his team and they came thru...the biggest that a boy goes to Dombroski,,,with additions of Delom Young and Fister and even Beniot at the end of the year made all the difference in this game along with my boy Victor please walk Miggy and I will show you who I am....comes thru huge....yes Leyland is the man but our GM is unparralled in getting what we need to get us to the end....Magglio came thru huge as well could have been left of playoff roster but clutch as ever.

1:10 am October 7, 2011

Robert Seguin II wrote:

I have been a tiger fan since 1978 when I turned 7 years old and understood the game, and what a game I just seen...it was allou could ask for in a game 5 winner takes all...first congrats to Leyland who I meet this summer at the tiger gala in lakeland a true pro, he put a team out ther that he knew in his heart could win without the need of Verlander...Fister 8-1 with 1.79 since joining the team, and Max ready to light it up at 98mph like he did...he knew he didnt need his stud becuase they won 95 games and Justin won 24 so he trusted his team and they came thru...the biggest that a boy goes to Dombroski,,,with addititions of Delom Young and Fister and even Beniot at the end of theyear made all the difference in this game along with my boy Victor please walk Miggy and I will show you who I am....comes thru huge....yes Leyland is the man but our GM is unparraled in getting what we need to get us to the end....Magglio came thru huge as well could have been left of playoff roster but cluthch as ever.

12:25 am October 7, 2011

lucklouie wrote:

THANK YOU A-ROD

12:05 am October 7, 2011

Zuckerman's Answer wrote:

Your answer is that the Yankees couldn't take the heat of a close game--they choked when it was tight.

11:53 pm October 6, 2011

Zuckerman's brother wrote:

Are the Tigers clearly the better team? The Yanks outscored them by 11 runs over a five game series. This is just what you get in a short series.

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